Baltimore’s Nightmare

As you complete the Hunting Magic story quest by viewing the crystals at the bottom of the passage beyond the old quarry, you'll activate this quest. You need to have watched Baltimore's dream in the projector screen.

(LEFT) 'Look in the house that Baltimore once owned to find a weak wall you can destroy with the Aard sign.' (RIGHT) 'Thorak wants to be updated if you find anything.'

Once the quest is activated, you should next head to Vergen and look for Baltimore's house. It's near the top side of town. You should be able to find it easily because just up the hill from it, some dwarves are working on smithing projects. Talk to the dwarves and you'll meet Thorak, their leader. He will grant you permission to enter Baltimore's house.

Head into the house and look through the cobwebs. In the back corner, you'll find a weak wall. It just looks like a bunch of bricks stacked on one another. Use the Aard sign to break it down and find a hidden room. Inside the room is a small treasure chest. Open it to obtain a key and some notes that Baltimore left, then exit the building. Thorak will ask you if you found anything. You can lie if you like, but that limits your options later. Instead, you should tell him the truth and he will urge you to let him know if the notes lead you to anything.

Look over the notes yourself. You'll find that they lead you to the burned village, where there's an abandoned well. Start from there and then head downhill to where the elves stand guard. Head left from there, through an archway gate. Continue along the trail and you'll come to a wooden altar where people have left scraps that the birds have gathered around. You'll be coming back to this place shortly. It's the three-way intersection hinted at by the directions Baltimore left. First, however, you should head down the main path that descends into the quarry. Head down along that trail and when you reach the base, look to the left of the gate that leads to the area where you originally saw Baltimore's dream. A slope leads up in that direction, to a treasure chest. Open the treasure chest with the key that you obtained in Baltimore's house.

(LEFT) 'Following the directions will eventually lead you to some ship wreckage.' (RIGHT) 'You can look along the rock walls near the ship to find foliage that hides the entrance to the secret chamber where Baltimore left his notes.'

Inside the chest, you'll find a runic key. Now you should climb back out of the quarry area and return to the altar where you saw the birds. As you approach it now from the direction of the mines, head left along the trail just beyond the alter. Through the stone archway, you'll arrive at the area where trolls live. You should be familiar with them from the Where is Triss Merigold? story quest.

Advance beyond the trolls and follow the trail to the left. It winds along the edge of a cliff where some harpies will likely attack you. Beyond that, you'll reach a canyon and find the ship's wreckage. The first thing you should do is look in the ship's wreckage for a treasure chest. If you are working on the Mystic River quest that began in the previous chapter, you'll update it now by opening the chest. Next, look around the ship and you should notice a wall covered with leafy vines. You can walk through them to find a hidden door. Open it and start inside. You'll be interrupted by Thorak and his apprentices.

It turns out that the dwarves have been following you. Now they have an offer: let them open the chest first and take Baltimore's notes. Then you can have anything that's left. If you ask, they'll give you a reasonably plausible excuse for their interest. You should refuse the offer, though. Battle the dwarves, then take anything you find on their bodies. Open the chest yourself and you'll find the notes. When you read them, the truth becomes clear. Head back to Vergen and tell Cecil Burdon what you have found for your reward. Then the quest is complete.